RxTraDec 12, 2013 • Vol. 69 No. 46

A publication for the staff of Hartford Hospital

A Hartford HealthCare Partner

Secrets of the BrainBeing Discovered at theOlin Neuropsychiatry

Research Center

It’s a story Dr. Harold Schwartz never seems to tire of telling; the phone call he received in the late

1990s telling him of a $19.5 million bequest to the Institute of Living. It came from the relatives of a one-time IOL patient from decades ago.

As psychiatrist-in-chief of the IOL, Schwartz could have used the money to point bricks or repair roads. Instead, he and others decided to move ahead with a neuropsychiatry research center they had long envisioned. The IOL recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the creation of that center-the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center-and its expansion into a newly- renovated annex in the nearby Huntington Building. “This is a day that has been long in coming and a very proud day for me,” a jubilant Schwartz told a crowd of well-wishers on Oct. 30.

In The Historic White Hall BuildingThe Olin Center is located in the White Hall Building, built in 1877 and designed by prominent Hartford architect George Keller.

Schwartz recalled the deteriorated state of the build-ing in the late 1990s before its transformation into the Olin’s state-of-the art headquarters. It sat aban-doned, its windows open, and raccoons, pigeons and

other wildlife had taken up residence. IOL leaders were on the verge of giving it away to a private behavioral health initiative, Schwartz said.

But with news of the $19.5 million bequest, they pulled the building back. Work on the design and renovation of the new facility surged ahead, as did a recruitment effort that resulted in the hiring of Dr. Godfrey Pearlson, a then-ten-ured professor at Johns Hop-kins University, as the center’s director.

Dr. Harold Schwartz (left) helps with the delivery of

the 3-Tesla MRI at the Olin Neuropsychiatry Center.

A subsequent donation of $5 million from the Olin Family contributed to further development, including the purchase of the center’s first tesla MRI scanner.

Updating the Huntington Building into the Annex for use by the Olin Center also required extensive reno-vations, Schwartz said.

The Annex is next door to the White Hall Building in what was once a cluster of shops for IOL patients known as Vauxhall Row. The shops were part of an effort in the 1920s to create a homelike setting for patients, particularly those at the IOL for extended periods. Services included a gift shop, yarn shop, cir-culating library and a beauty salon called Chez Nous. An annual report notes the building being converted to emergency operating rooms in 1942 – a wartime measure in the event of community need.

A second story was added to provide much needed office space over the part once used for shops. The addition connects to the neighboring Butler Building, home to the IOL’s Anxiety Disorder Center.

Like the White Hall Building, the lobby of the Annex has a mural by Windsor-based artist Dennis Peabody depicting a brain scan. It has the same iridescent luster as the one at White Hall – a characteristic of the metal-in-fused dichroic glass tiles Peabody uses in his work.

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The first floor of the Annex has rooms for con-ducting interviews, taking DNA samples and a DNA lab. On the second floor, post-doctoral fellows work in a honeycomb of cubicles poring over data.

A Second Scanner

In 2010, with the economy in a slump, money became available through the American Re-

investment and Recovery Act. The Olin Center applied for a $6 million grant in the hopes of purchasing a second scanner. They got $3.27 million, enough to build another MRI suite and additional research space, but not to buy the scanner. Hartford Hospital – which by this time had merged with the IOL – closed the gap by coming forward with $2.2 million in matching funds that allowed the center to purchase a next-generation 3 tesla wide-bore full body MRI scanner. The excitement surrounding the acquisition is palpable and almost giddy. The new scanner has 30 channels, where the original scanner has just one, and can scan four times faster.

Very few psychiatry departments in the world own their own scanners, and to have two of them sets Olin Center apart from other neuro-psychiatric research institutions, Schwartz said. Only five hospitals in the world own their own scanners, he said.

Hartford Hospital president Dr. Stuart Markowitz joked about being both jealous and proud about the Olin Center acquiring a second machine. As the former chief of the hospital’s Radiology Department, he tried for many years without success to obtain a scanner for his department.

The hospital encourages the sort of interdepart-mental bridge-building that the second scan-ner purchase made possible. The collaboration between Olin and hospital’s Cardiology Depart-ment, for example, is looking at the role of lipid drugs in brain loss and the degree to which exercise protects against vascular disorders such as Alzheimer’s Disease.

The hospital’s Neurosurgery Department relies on the brain-mapping capabilities of the scan-ners to extract tumors without harming other vital parts of the brain.

Brain Research:

The Olin Neuropsychiatry

Research CenterBy Loretta Waldman

The White Hall and Huntington Buildings: Luxurious Patient Housing In The 1870s The kind of cutting edge work going on daily today at the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center would have been unimaginable in the late 1870s, when prominent Hartford ar-chitect George Keller was commissioned to design the White Hall Building. Keller began his career designing cemetery monuments but went on to design a host of Hartford landmarks that includes the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, the Charter Oak Cul-tural Center, and Union Station. He created the White Hall building as housing for patients. It was built in 1877 and remained patients’ quarters into the 1920s and 30s, an era when residents were referred to as “guests” and lived in stylish rooms, apartments and cottages intended to provide a home-like setting considered thera-peutic at the time. Amenities noted in White Hall include an indoor swimming pool and squash court.

The center’s original scanner occupies the space in the White Hall Building once used for the squash court. A Tudor-style extension was added to same building to accommodate the second scanner. In the Huntington Building, records note “attractive shops along the quaint Old English Vauxhall Row.” Residents ap-pear in photographs shopping for gifts at the Here-It-Is Shop, buying yarn at the Modern Maiden and borrowing books from a circulating library called the Ye Royale Booke.

A second story was added over what used to be the shops to provide needed office space for researchers.

Dr. Godfrey Pearlson

Photos taken at the IOL in the 1940s show a squash court in the White Hall Building (right), and the “Here It Is Shop” (be-low) in the former Huntington Building, which is now the Olin Center Annex.

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Brain ResearchThe Olin Center was initially envi-sioned as a center for research on schizophrenia, but under Pearl-son’s leadership, it has significant-ly broadened its scope to include studies on Alzheimer’s Disease, autism, brain tumors, PTSD and bipolar disorder. The center also collaborates with researchers at Yale University and Hartford HealthCare’s Neurosurgery, Cardi-ology and Bariatric Surgery de-partments.

Olin researchers are engaged in ongoing federally-funded stud-ies on obesity, hoarding, and drug and alcohol abuse.

“Clearly, Godfrey Pearlson has put together a group of core scientists who have been unbelievably pro-lific,” Schwartz noted. “Each runs his or her own lab, and they have generated almost $42 million in funding. We have the equivalent resources of a major university.”

Last year, three of the 10 most cited articles in the journal Bio-

logical Psychiatry were published by Olin Center scientists. “That is a phenomenal level of achieve-ment,” said Schwartz. “The sky’s the limit for this work,” said Jeffrey Flaks, past president of the Hartford Hospital and now executive vice president and chief operating officer of Hartford HealthCare. “For us at Hartford Hospital is been a convergence. It’s about who we are. This is a great moment for us, one to be proud of, one to build on, and one that is a source of pride on this campus.” n

35 Years of Service Edward Miller, Engineering/Mechanical Darlene Ous, IS/Network

30 Years of Service Karl Herbert, Transplant/Immunology Lab Ellen Kurdzo, Medical Physics Maria Martinez, Food/Nutrition/Patient Tray Service Melissa Matolina, MHN DN 1S Linda Zizzamia, PA Administration

25 Years of Service Ronald Carrier, Finance/Corporate Treasury Gary Curtin, IS/Clinical Integration Susan Daley, Radiology/Short Stay Michael Ferrante, Radiology/Short Stay Nancy Gomez, HHREC-Medical Office Building GA Garfield Johnson, Environmental Services/ General Karen Renstrom, Department Of Surgery Agnes Reynolds, WHS North 8 Lucille Ringrose, PA Denial Management Liuba Semczysyn, Surgical Service Bliss 8 Man-Ling Tang, Orthopedics CB4 Irene Wawrzyniak, Consult/Liaison ER Psych

15 Years of Service Stephanie Antonelli, Social Work Felicita Arroyo, PA Financial Assistance Daniel Bolduc, O.R. CORE Keo Jeans, Operating Rooms/Cardiovascular Migdalia Matos, Institute Psychiatric Group Brendan McCann, MHN DN 1S Auria Mercado, O.R. CORE Susan Mulcunry, Assessment Center Patricia Niezgorski, Transplant/ Administration

10 Years of Service Abel Antunez, Laundry/General Anne Cronin, Surgical Service Bliss 9E Neal Galeota, Surgical Service Bliss 7 ICU Ronald Jambard, Pharmacy/General Sallie Kemp, ERN – Hartford - OA Aimee Leger, Finance/Professional Services Ad Jessenia Llubert, Post Anesthesia Care Unit Heather Machado, Medicine Service Bliss 11 ICU Sandrine Slack, Operating Rooms/CORE Ambulatory

5 Years of Service Lillian Ferguson, Environmental Services/ General Rachel Fraser, Rehab Enfield - OP Rocio Goyzueta, WHS North 8 Ashley Hadden-Sanzo, Surgical Service Bliss 8 Florence Johnson, Pharmacy/General Gilda Johnson, Surgical Service North 9 Joseph Kennedy, Food/Nutrition/Main Kitchen Nataliya Krayzman, Radiology/Mammography Caron Macomber, Respiratory Care Melissa Mendez-Rodriguez, PA Self Pay Gladys Nieves, PA Medicare Billing Cesarina Saldana, PA Correspondence Carmen Santiago, H I M/Regulatory Steven Zweibel, Department Of Cardiology/ Administration

Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service - May 2013

A Hartford HealthCare Partner

Studies at the Olin Center

In the decade since it opened, the Olin Neu-ropsychiatry Research Center has evolved into a hub of inquiry for a broad range of brain-related disorders that include Alzheim-er’s Disease, autism, brain tumors, PTSD and bipolar disorder. The center also collabo-rates with researchers at Yale University and Hartford HealthCare’s Neurosurgery, Cardi-ology and Bariatric Surgery Departments, a recipe for scientific breakthroughs that Dr. Godfrey Pearlson, the center’s director, enthusiastically supports.

“You get a lot of scientific perspectives and a lot of scientific ferment, when different scientists come together,” he said. “It builds excitement, a buzz if you like. It stretches us outside our own discipline. Research should be creative and answer interesting questions objectively. Things that have health conse-quences are important.”

Two studies currently underway at the Olin Center have profound consequences from a public health perspective. The center’s Brain and Alcohol Research on College Students study (BARCS), follows students from Cen-tral Connecticut State University and Trinity College to determine the effect alcohol and drugs have on brain function during col-lege and beyond. Funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the study tracks the drinking patterns and family histories of 2,000 Trinity and CCSU students beginning their freshman year.

Students recruited for the study provide DNA samples, are given an IQ test, and answer questions about any family history of alcohol or drug abuse as well as all prior drinking patterns and behavior.

Using a secure website, participants log their drinking habits and any resulting conse-quences. A subset of 500 students are given MRIs and EEGs that provide researchers with baseline information against which they can gauge changes in the brain. The MRI tests reveal brain shrinkage or changes in wiring. The EEG tests compare the brains reaction to visual stimuli, such as pictures of a six-pack of beer and a six-pack of soda. In the BARCS study, how students react to certain pic-tures at the beginning of the study predicts whether the student will have an alcohol disorder a year later, Pearlson said. Re-searchers want to feed that information back to the colleges so they can use it to develop programs.

A similarly-structured obesity study looks at why only 20 percent of patients undergo-ing lap band and gastric bypass surgery lose weight. By monitoring how patients referred by the Hartford Hospital bariatric service respond to food, researchers hope to deter-mine possible underlying causes of exces-sive food consumption, such as addiction or depression. The patient’s habits, health and family history are rigorously documented as are hormone levels.

The gut talks to the brain and that regulates hormone levels that indicate when we are full, explained Pearlson, and “it’s clear that when you have (gastric) surgery, those hor-mones reset.”

Participants undergo the same “Go-No Go” style impulsivity tests as those in the BARCS study, but look at pictures of food or are given squirts of low- and high-calorie milk shakes to determine how their brain responds.

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40 Years of Service Joyce Mosley, Mail Room

35 Years of Service Maria Alves, Radiology/General Michele Damboise, Case Coordination Linda Freeman-Bosco, Department Of Surgery Judith Gelinas, Cardiology/ECHO Wayne Levandoski, Engineering/Electrical Lizabeth Roper, Research Administration Infrastructure Donna Zampino, IS/Clinical Integration

30 Years of Service Robyn Beaulieu, Nursing Service Office Donna Connolly, WH Surgery Center/ Clinical Mary Murphy, Clinical Administration/Neuro/ Trauma/Orthopedics Marjorie Niemczyk, Bed Management Christine Reinert, Surgical Service Bliss 7 ICU Errol Taylor, Security

25 Years of Service Patricia Ackeifi, WHS North 8 Julian Breakenridge, Surgical Service Bliss 7 ICU Daphne Carter, Administration/General Douglas Davis, Security Diana Dlugolenski, Respiratory Care Jean Donahue, Medicine Service North 12 Barbara Emery, Donnelly 3S Juan Figueroa, Engineering/Grounds Susan Gallagher, Nursing Administration/ Staff Dev Michelle Labombard, Surgical Service C9I Glenvis Lawrence, Surgical Service Bliss 7E

Patricia Liquori, Surgical Service Bliss 7 ICU Sharon Mann, Respiratory Care Jessica Nieszczezewski, Nursing Service Office Wilfredo Palomino, Environmental Services/ General Eddie Rivera-Diaz, IS/Operations Concetta Rotondo, Labor And Delivery Amphitrite Sakis, Food/Nutrition/Main Kitchen Kimberly Schwalm, Surgical Service Bliss 7E Beth Willadsen, Cardiology Service Center 10

20 Years of Service Pamela Bartolotta, Radiation Oncology/ NRRON Jean Bergquist, Food/Nutrition/Main Kitchen Alan Cyr, Rented Real Estate/Newington Barbara Fox, Department Of Emergency Medicine Wayne Radkovitch, Engineering/Electrical Louise Rodrique, Preventive Cardiology Yuying Xu, Pharmacy/General

15 Years of Service Trisha Brainard, ECT Thomas Cook, HPHO-Administration General Julia Czarnecki, Case Coordination Gina Frazao-Jeski, Special Education/Hartford William Iovanna, Rehabilitation Wethersfield - OP Tracy King, Corporate Medical Affairs Donna Kugler, HH Eye Surgery Center/ Administration Ana Lopez, Surgical Service Bliss 8 Barbara McNeil, Radiology/Administration Zofia O’Neil-Dewey, Medicine Service Bliss 11 ICU Denise Puia, Labor And Delivery Jenny Sagers, Medical Physics/Avon Carol Winn, PAS Financial Clearance

10 Years of Service Nelida Arroyo, Sleep Lab/Bloomfield Joanna Borek, Cardiology Service Center 10 Tiasha Brown, Cardiology/ECHO Carrie Colarusso, Vascular Laboratory Karen Davis-Huggan, Operating Rooms/ Cardiovascular Sarah Dzialo, Cardiology Service Bliss 10 ICU Debbie Ann Ellington, STAR Team Marta Fares, Medicine Service Center 12L Amy Ferenz, Medicine Service CB5 Judith Greco-Dugan, Stroke Center Dorothy Hannan-Forbes, O.R. CORE Ramon Jimenez, Security Katarzyna Kosior, Medicine Service Bliss 11E Erin Lewis, Rehab Per Diem Steven Madonick, Donnelly 2S Patricia McLarney, Nursing Administration/ Womens’ Health Eric Nyarkoh, Radiology/General Anthony Palmieri, Respiratory Care David Pepper, Consult/Liaison ER Psych Heather Priest, Emergency Transport Center Carnetta Reed, Donnelly 2N Matthew Rivers, Medicine Service Bliss 11 ICU Michele Rodriguez, Respiratory Care Brigitte Traister, WHS North 8 Joanne Vidallon, Patient Service/SNF Erin Williams, Cancer Center/Patient Navigator

5 Years of Service Germaine Afantchao, Surgical Service Bliss 7E Celia Alamo, Social Work Jacqueline Alexander, Accounting/General Shawn Allen, Department Of Psychiatry/ Administration

Ashley Andrews, Pharmacy/General Hadzira Becarevic, Environmental Services/ General Concepcion Bermudez, Patient Support Services Lauri Bolton, Department Of Emergency Medicine Anna Bosso, Department Of Emergency Medicine Nicole Brasfield, Surgical Service Bliss 8 Karyn Butler, Department Of Surgery Maribel Carrero, Environmental Services/ General Suzanne Casey, IS/Clinical Integration Filomena Chamberland, Rehab Hartford - OP Brita Chambers, Respiratory Care Jennifer Chaves, O.R. CORE Danielle Chenard, Rehabilitation/Clinic Patricia Collins, Dialysis Service Renata Cook, Accounting/General Robert Davis, Security Stefanie Denis, Surgical Service C9I Michael Dewberry, Medical Ed/Child Psychiatry Elizabeth DiLullo, Operating Rooms/ Cardiovascular Ryan Donahue, Materials Management/ Purchasing Michaela Donnelly, Business Development/ Community Relations/Administration Nilsa Echevarria, Labor And Delivery Mattye Ellis, PA Customer Service Alex Febles, Food/Nutrition/Main Kitchen Mallory Franklin, Rehabilitation Manchester - OP Richard Garcia, Respiratory Care Carissa Gildea, STAR Team Maria Gorgan, Medical Education/Pathology Scarlette Grassetti, Surgical Service Bliss 9 ICU Cheryl Grezlik, PHP/Eating Disorder Nicole Huhn, Department Of Surgery Kyle Irzyk, Emergency Transport Center Robyn Jones, Oncology Service CB2 Tammy Julian, Cardiology Service Center 10 Jordan Kaiser, Surgical Service North 9 David Kim, Medical Education/Child Psychiatry Amanda Lopes, STAR Team Natalie March, Medical Education/Child Psychiatry Dana Matos, Surgical Service North 9 Cynthia Matthews, PA Payment Variance Robert Melo, Dialysis Service Chanell Merrick, O.R. CORE Christine Meyers, Occupational Health/Safety Heather Nordmark, Obstetrics/Bliss 6 Judith Patacca, WHS North 8 Anjana Patel, Medicine Service Bliss 11 ICU Marisa Peretto, O.R. CORE Lauren Pulaski, Cardiology Service Bliss 10 ICU Alicia Riley, PAS IP Registration Zaira Rivera, Medicine Service CB5 Elizabeth Rutledge, O.R. CORE Anthony Sklanka, ERN - VNA Hartford Kathleen Stanwicks, Anxiety Center Vanessa Stewart, Medicine Service Bliss 11 ICU Sherry Strimike, WHS North 8 Kelly Sullivan, Cardiology/Outpatient VAD Darlene Sutton, Medicine Service Center 12L Elvira Syed, Respiratory Care Vincent Tafuto, ERN - VNA Hartford Marie Talbot, Risk Management Ashley Travisano, Operating Rooms/ Cardiovascular Bruna Valle, H I M/Regulatory Danalyn Vierira, Assessment Center Leroy Walker, Environmental Services/General Theresa Williams, Obstetrics/Bliss 6

Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service - June 2013

40 Years of Service Jennifer Bolling, Case Coordination Deborah Fortin, Cardiac Laboratory/Adult Carol Ladany, Orthopedics CB6 Nancy Young, PA Self Pay

35 Years of Service Jerry Belanger, Planning and Marketing Keith Crosby, Biomedical Engineering Loretta Higgins, Environmental Services/ General Robert Levitz, Department of Medicine/ Infectious Diseases Diane Marci, Cardiology/Arrhythmia Roger Mennett, Department of Cardiology/ Administration Pauline Poulin, GI Endoscopy Marinella Russell, Allied Health/X-Ray Technician

30 Years of Service Carol Cadder, Oncology Service CB2 Raffaela Costa, HR/Compensation And Benefits Nancy Cyr, Food/Nutrition/Patient Tray Service Juan Donato, Mail Room Heidi McCloskey, Nursing Administration/ Mental Health Susan O’Brien, Radiology/General

25 Years of Service Lydia Acevedo, GI Endoscopy Daphne Carter, Administration Robert Charry, Rehabilitation/General Rose-Marie Curtin-Clarke, Women’s Ambulatory Health John D’Avella, Administration/General Hilary Dial, IT/Revenue Cycle Charles Mckay, Department of Emergency Medicine Colleen Mellen, WHS/Urogynecology Michele Murdza, WHS/Urogynecology Brenda Peloso, O.R. CORE Lee Smith, Security

20 Years of Service Allison Forrest, WHS/Urogynecology Evan Fox, Consult/Liaison ER Psych

Meghan Link, Obstetrics/Bliss 6 Narcizo Mercado, Environmental Services/ General Kathleen Race, Bed Management

15 Years of Service Arben Ademi, Clinical Research Center Judith Charneski, Case Coordination Joan Johnson, HH Eye Surgery Center/Clinic Elizabeth McDowell-Smith, HH Eye Surgery Center/Clinic Judith Omphroy, IS/Project Management Tammy Sajkowicz, Department of Surgery Catherine Thompson, Operating Rooms/Spine Center

10 Years of Service Melagros Cabrera, Environmental Services/ General Elena Coffey, Lactation Center Lisa Corbett, General Surgery Clinical Administration Jaime Davis, PAS ED Registration Joao Delgado, Department of Emergency Medicine Hilda DelGaudio, ERN - Glastonbury - OA Janet Gonzalez, Oncology Service CB2 Kathleen Graham, Department of Neurology Laureen Hayes, ERN - Hartford - OA Lynn Kierstead, Medicine Service Bliss 11 ICU Christine LaSala, WHS/Urogynecology Joseph Montanez, Donnelly 2S Georgette Morrison, Donnelly 2S Victoria Nardi, Radiology/Nuclear Medicine Dara Neiman, Obstetrics/Bliss 6 Reena Patel, Obstetrics/Bliss 6 Roberta Rhodes, Labor and Delivery Eileen Schopper, Labor and Delivery Bruce Stanley, Radiology/Nuclear Medicine Pauline Stockman, Dialysis Service Paul Tulikangas, WHS/Urogynecology Nunzio Uccello, Environmental Services/ General

5 Years of Service Chiquana Allman, Surgical Service North 9 Sarah Auperin, Cardiology Service Center 10 Gretchen Bacaoco, Patient Service/SNF Susan Betalleluz, Donnelly 1N Nohora Brugueras, CDC Breast/Cervical Cancer Fund Jose Colon, Surgical Service Bliss 9E Nicole Connolly, Pharmacy/General Sherry Dano, Finance/Professional Services Administration Jack DePedro, Engineering/Mechanical Michaela Donnelly, Planning and Marketing David Downes, Cardiology/Endovascular Yu Ming Fang, Prenatal Testing Center Jonathan Farlow, Medicine Service Bliss 11 ICU Sara Garcia, Labor and Delivery Andrea Hany, Radiation Oncology NRRON Karl Harris, Radiation Therapy General Molly Hetrick, WHS North 8 Morgan Hummer, Surgical Service North 9 Pamela Johnson, Human Subjects Protection P Lisa Looby, Radiology/Short Stay Martine Maldonado, STAR Team Rosa Marti, Laundry/General Nicole Martin, Surgical Service Bliss 9E Christine Mattson, Cardiology Service Center 10 Leah Melloni, Medicine Service North 12 Kevin Musto, Respiratory Care Valerie Neary, Cardiology Service Bliss 10E Toccara Nickerson, Surgical Service C9I Alyssa Ososki, Cardiology Service Bliss 10E Beth Parker, High-dose Atorvastatin ON NE Joanna Repaci, Surgical Service Bliss 8

Monica Ronaghan, Emergency Room/General Rafal Sadowski, Radiology/CT Scan Vanessa Silva, Oncology Service CB2 Kandace Simon, Emergency Room/General Curtis Slaughter, PAS ED Registration Chantell Smith, Surgical Service C9I Aimee Soucy, Surgical Service Bliss 7 ICU Marie Talbot, Risk Management Catherine Thresher, Surgical Service Bliss 5 Bridget Turek, MHN DN 1S Ramiz Uvalic, Environmental Services/General Karen Weingrod, Breast Diagnostic Center Erin Weisenberg, Radiation Oncology/Avon Kristen Wenger, Medicine Service Bliss 11 ICU Tonya Wilson, PA Financial Assistance Tiffany Wood, Oncology Service CB2 Kimberly Woytik, Emergency Room/General

Volunteers

500 hours Sebastian Dignoti, Fall Prevention and Book Cart Fay Levin-Lavoie, Reiki Francis Luczak, Book Cart Joelyn Grot, IOL Gift Shop Ciara Valasquez, Patient Relations

1,000 hours Tykia Jones, Cancer Center Boutique

Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service - July 2013

A Hartford HealthCare PartnerA Hartford HealthCare Partner

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Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service A Hartford HealthCare Partner

May • 2013

Left to right: Five-year award winners Steven Zweibel, Ashley Hadden-Sanzo and Gilda Johnson are congratulated by President Jeff Flaks. Left to right: President Jeff Flaks con-

gratulates Sandrine Slack, Jessenia Llubert and Ronald Jambard on 10 years of service.

Left to right: 15-year award winners Daniel Bolduc, Patricia Niezgorski, Stephanie Antonelli and Migdalia Ma-tos with President Flaks.

15-year award winner Auria Mercado.

Left to right: President Flaks welcomes the newest members of the Quarter Century Club: Lucille Ringrose, Karen Renstrom, Susan Daley, Liuba Semczy-syn and Irene Wawrzyniak.

Ellen Kurdzo celebrated 30 years of service.

Presient Flaks and members of the Engineering Department congratulate Edward Miller (second from left) on 35 years of service.

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Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service A Hartford HealthCare Partner

June • 2013

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40Left to right: Five year award win-ners Nilsa Echevarria, Dana Ma-tos, Germaine Afantchao, Anjana Patel, Nicole Brasfield, Kathleen Stanwicks, Elizabeth Rutledge, Alex Febles, Alicia Riley, Darlene Sutton, Danielle Chenard …

Ashley Travisano, Jennifer Chaves, Elizabeth DiLullo, Su-zanne Casey and Danalyn Vierira.

Being recognized for 10 years of service are (left to right) Tiasha Brown, Sarah Dzialo, Steven Madonick, David Pepper, Matthew Rivers and Erin Williams.

Left to right: Vice president of Hu-man Resources Peter Fraser con-gratulates Thomas Cook, Tracy King and Barbara McNeil for 15 years of service.

Louise Rodrique, center, is con-gratulated by Dr. Paul Thompson and Dr. Marcin Dada for her 20 years of service.

Mr. Fraser congratulates 30-year award winners Mary Murphy and Donna Connolly.

Left to right: Linda Freeman-Bosco, Lizabeth Roper and Judith Gelinas celebrated 35 years of service.

1. Jean Bolduc received a 40-year award; 2. Coworkers congratulate Gaetan Levesque on 40 years of service; 3. Anna Mancini talks about her 40 years at Hartford Hospital; 4. Nancy Reklaitis celebrated 40 years of service.

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Staff Members Recognized for Years of Service A Hartford HealthCare Partner

July • 2013

Jeff Flaks (far left) and Eliot Joseph (far right) congratulate 5-year award win-ners, left to right: Catherine Thresher, Vanessa Silva, Tonya Wilson, Tiffany Wood, Joanna Repaci, Pamela Johnson, Karl Harris, Morgan Hummer, Michaela Donnelly, David Downes, Nicole Con-nolly and Valerie Neary.

Eliot Joseph and Jeff Flaks flank 10-year winners (left to right) Nunzio Uccello, Pauline Stockman, Dara Neiman, Jaime Davis and Lisa Corbett.

15-year award winners (left to right) Catherine Thompson, Judith Omphroy, Judith Charneski and Arben Ademi.

Left to right, 20-year winners Kathleen Race, Evan Fox and Allison Forrest.

Jeff Flaks (far left) and Eliot Joseph (farright) congratulate the newest mem-bers of the Quarter Century Club, left to right: Brenda Peloso, Colleen Mel-len, Rose-Marie Curtin-Clarke, Daphne Carter and John D’Avella.

30-year winners (left to right) Susan O’Brien, Heidi McCloskey and Juan Donato

Celebrating 35 years of service are (left to right): Pauline Poulin, Roger Mennett, Robert Levitz, Keith Crosby and Jerry Belanger

40 years of service: 1. Jennifer Bolling, Case Coordination; 2. Deborah Fortin, Cardiac Laboratory/Adult; 3. Nancy Young, PA Self Pay

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VolunteersEileen Pelletier (far right) congratulates volunteers (left to right):

Tykia Jones (1,000 hours), and 500-hour volunteers Ciara

Valasquez, Joelyn Grot, Francis Luczak and Fay Levin-Lavoie.

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Jefferson

House Funds

Advanced

Services For

Seniors

By Alex Orlando

Senior citizens represent the most rapidly grow-ing segment of our population. In the evolving

landscape of geriatric care, an increasing demand for services looms on the horizon now that the first baby boomers have become Medicare beneficiaries. Jefferson House and Cedar Mountain Commons, a department of Hartford Hospital located in Newing-ton that provides long-term care and rehabilitation services to seniors, is providing funding and support for innovative services that will benefit our region’s aging population. Jefferson House will partner with Hartford HealthCare to form a coordinated-care model Geri-atric and Palliative Care Institute, and will develop a mobile training program at Hartford Hospital’s Cen-ter for Education, Simulation and Innovation (CESI). It is making grants of $2.3 million for care coordina-tion at the Institute, and $471,000 to CESI. The grant to the Geriatric Institute will cover initial start-up costs and two-years of operating ex-penses for the development of geriatric and pallia-

tive medicine services, cross-continuum care teams, resident and family engagement, and education and research initiatives. “The goal of initiating the Geriatric and Palliative Care institute is, essentially, to bring the right people together,” said physician-in-chief of the institute, Dr. Michael Lindberg. “Our points of focus are a high quality of care, a strict standard for patient satisfac-tion, and the advancement of academics and re-search.” The grant to CESI will cover one-time, start-up costs and two years of operating costs for a project that will allow CESI to take its expertise and technol-ogy on the road. The mobile program will help distin-guish and grow the world-class medical training that CESI provides. Armed with a recently acquired cargo van and the imminent purchase of a training man-nequin specifically tailored for nursing home care, CESI’s mobile program will allow nursing home staff to receive advanced training in their actual working space.

Alan Laites, executive director of Jefferson House

“Residents in nursing homes are often debilitated, and we worry about our workforce being injured in the process of caring for them,” said Trish Walden, executive vice president of Central Connecticut Senior Health Services. “This mobile training tech-nology can help to improve safety for both the patient and the at-risk workers.” Jefferson House is uniquely poised to establish and provide initial fund-ing for these innovative services for seniors, said Alan Laites, executive director. These initiatives are being funded by income from the endow-ment of Jefferson House, which for 129 years has been dedicated to improving the health status of area seniors. “There’s not another nursing home in the United States that has the resources to make this happen,” Laites said. “Most other nursing cen-ters are simply trying to survive.” Since opening their doors in 1884 as the Old People’s Home on Jeffer-

son Street (the current location of Hartford Hospi-tal’s ERC), the Jefferson House has provided excel-lent long-term care and rehabilitation services to seniors in the greater Hartford area. Laites said he relishes Jefferson House’s op-portunity to further elevate the standard of elderly care throughout HHC and beyond. “Jefferson House is an institution that is will-ing to take the risks to achieve better results,” said Lindberg. “It’s nice to have an organization with such a progressive mindset under the Hartford Hospital umbrella.” Stemming from collective values of coordina-tion, innovation and a desire to aid senior members of our community, these initiatives will propel HHC and Jefferson House forward together. “A health system is only as good as the way that it treats its most fragile and at-risk members,” said Lindberg. “Geriatrics is on the edge of interdis-ciplinary approaches, and it draws strength from collaboration. We’re a team.” n

Jefferson House Service AwardsJefferson House held its annual pin ceremony on October 7 to recognize those employees that have or will reach a service milestone in 2013.

Five years of service: Left to right - Michele Ambruso-turf, Helen Funari, Anna Kurian, Gretchen Bacaoco, Ratna Kumudawati and Oxdeli Pereira.

Ten years of service: Left to right - Robert Pettinicchi, Teresa Sobota, Donald Pitter, Christa Hesselbach, Janet Rigor and Joanne Vidallon.

Left: Alan Laites congratulates Donna Gentile on 15 years of service.

Right: Celebrating 20 years of service were Danuta Blajerski and

Jean Bergquist.

Left: Mr. Laites congratulates Robyn Beaulieu on 30 years of service.

A Hartford HealthCare Partner

In the Event of an Emergency: Patient Evacuation Made Easier with MedSleds

Hartford Hospital has not had to deal with a major disaster since 1961, when a deadly fire swept

through the hospital and killed seven people. But disasters such as the terrorist attacks on Septem-ber 11, the Joplin tornado, and super storms Katrina and Sandy underscore the importance of hospitals reviewing their disaster plans, including emergency evacuation of non-ambulatory patients. When Richard Leach joined Hartford Hospital last December as an instructor and emergency exercise planner in the hospital’s Center for Emergency Pre-paredness, he was charged with getting 40 patient evacuation sleds placed in the hospital. The toboggan-like reusable plastic transporters are called MedSleds, and the company motto is “No one left behind.” Finding a place to store the sleds was the first challenge, but Leach, an East Hartford firefighter, found a way. He bought four large red canvas bags

able to hold 10 sleds each, and put two each in the Jefferson and Conklin buildings. Neither of those buildings have the structural features needed to evacuate non-ambulatory patients to a safe area on the same floor – horizontally. Patients instead have to be evacuated vertically by bringing them to lower floors using stairwells – a process that would be dif-ficult, if not impossible, without a device such as the MedSled. “This is the safest way, not only for the patients but for the people bringing them downstairs,” Leach said of the sleds. “Other than carrying them down, there is no way to evacuate patients using the stairs. Moving a large patient that way can take three or four people carrying the patient or holding them on a chair.” Using a MedSled takes less time, fewer people and requires no heavy lifting, Leach said. Two people can easily roll a patient onto the sled, secure them

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in place, and lower the sled to the floor. The sled’s “roll and drag” fea-tures allow one person to pull it along the floor with minimal ef-fort. A 120-pound person, for ex-ample, can transport a 250-pound patient with relative ease. MedSleds are equipped with a stairwell braking system that al-lows for safe, controlled descents. The sled itself is made of a pliable plastic that can be rolled up into a sleeping bag-like tube for stor- age. Once unfurled, however, the plastic is rigid enough to hold its shape and provide a stable ride while the patient is being moved.

Leach had the sleds in place by early November, and will begin training shortly. The departments most likely to be using the sleds – nursing, patient transport, radiol-ogy transport and fire safety and security – will participate in the training, Leach said. Training will be held in the Center for Education, Simulation and Innovation (CESI) Lab on the second floor of the ERC Building. The first part will focus on “pack-aging” the patient – unrolling the sled, rolling the patient onto it, securing them in place and slid-ing the sled from the bed onto the floor.

In the second part, hospital staff will learn how to lower patients down the stairs using a “bucket brigade” style technique, where the sled is tethered to a bracket on the railing of an inside wall while a “sender” and “receiver” guide it down the stairs. About 100 staff members are expected to take part in the train-ing, Leach said. An estimated 2,800 hospitals nationally are using the MedSled. Last year, when Hurricane Sandy slammed into New York City and knocked out power, NYU’s Lan-gone Medical Center used them to evacuate patients, including 20 newborns. “Disasters don’t happen every day but you want to be ready for that one time that they do hap-pen,” said Leach. n

Left: Richard Leach (center) explains use of the MedSled to Virginia Kristie (left) and Denise Rodriguez, who then put their new skills to the test evacuat-ing a “patient.”

One-Year Anniversary of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center:

A New Seizure-free World for Many Patients

“Epilepsy is a debilitating disease that can disable

people at the prime of their lives,” says Dr. Brendan Killory, director of Epilepsy and Functional

Neurosurgery at Hartford Hospital.

It can be difficult to make a diagnosis of epilepsy, and mis-

diagnosis is not rare. But for the 60,000 people in Connecticut liv-ing with epilepsy, the one-year old Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Hartford Hospital has provided new hope. “We opened our doors in November 2012, and it’s been an incredibly successful year,” says neurologist and epilepsy specialist Dr. Erica Schuyler from the Neu-rosciences Department. “We’ve been able to help a lot of patients become seizure-free and provide support for patients throughout their diagnosis.” The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU), located on Hartford Hos-pital’s main campus on the 11th floor of the Center building, con-tains six private rooms: four beds wired for epilepsy monitoring and two rooms available for expan-sion. In its first year, the EMU admit-ted 72 patients. Of that number, 22 now have positive confirmation that they have epilepsy and have

had key medication adjustments to free them from seizures, and 25 others were informed that they were initially misdiagnosed with epilepsy and have been taken off multiple medications with life altering side-effects. Seven pa-tients with medically intractable epilepsy (whose seizures don’t respond to medication) were given the option of undergoing surgical procedures. “The surgical component of the program is still evolving,” says Dr. Brendan Killory, director of Epilep-sy and Functional Neurosurgery at Hartford Hospital, who deter-mines whether patients are viable candidates for resections, where a portion of the brain is removed to prevent ongoing seizures. Pre-surgical monitoring, ranging from MRIs to pet-scans, allows neurolo-gists to localize seizure activity within the brain and determine that these areas don’t house criti-cal functions before considering surgical resections. In conjunction with the inpa-tient unit, an outpatient division of the Comprehensive Epilepsy

Center provides electroencepha-logram (EEG) services, which can provide evidence that helps to

confirm or refute the diagnosis of epilepsy, and ambulatory moni-toring, which allows prolonged EEG recording outside the hospital setting. The center also offers cogni-tive behavioral therapy treatment for patients with non-epileptic seizure disorders, coordinated by Dr. Danielle Koby. “Dr. Koby offers technologically advanced, com-passionate and safe treatment for non-epileptic spells,” says Brian Proxee, the center’s clinical coor-dinator. In a concerted effort to im-prove the delivery of patient care, the Epilepsy Center created a 12-member Patient Advisory Board. The group of patients and former patients, which meets

quarterly, has played an instru-mental role in improving the pa-tient experience, including chang-ing the discharge process, exit interviews with the center coordi-nator and the ability to document their experiences. “They also decided to compile an admissions packet with infor-mation geared to patients in the Epilepsy Center,” said Proxee. The center also partnered with the Epilepsy Foundation of Con-necticut to offer monthly support group meetings. “Epilepsy is a common disor-der, so many people have connec-tions with someone who might be suffering from it,” says Dr. Schuy-ler. “But often, people who suffer from epilepsy haven’t met anyone

else their age with the condition. Providing the opportunity for those connections to be made in the support group is invaluable.” Overall, it is the complete na-ture of the services – from diagno-sis and treatment to support - offered in one place that makes the Comprehensive Epilepsy Cen-ter so valuable to patients. “The fact that Hartford Hos-pital invested in the people of Connecticut to give them expert care and offer an entire spectrum of treatment options for seizures is incredible,” says Proxee. “The Comprehensive Epilepsy Center provides an amazing opportunity for patients, and it is changing lives.” n

By Alex Orlando “Seizures can prevent people from driving, and severely

disrupt their ability to work and maintain relationships.

Effective treatment can really give people their lives back.”

Staff from the Epilepsy Center enjoyed the anniversary celebration. Top row, left to right: Gerardo Ramos, Maria Almenas, Kirsteen Acevedo, Keishla Santiago, Danielle Koby, Jessica Bailey-Deblois, Jason Alster, Kelly Sandblom, Eliete Peres, Erica Schuyler, Carl Boland, Avinash Prasad, Bryan Proxee and Brendan Killory Bottom row left to right: Mary Babcock, Wendy Elberth, Ruthy Benitez, Donna Avanecean

Dr. Erica Schuyler cuts the Epilepsy Center anniversary cake.

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Happy Holidays From Hartford Hospital

Members of the Hartford Hospital Auxiliary had great success at their annual holiday Poinsettia sale, the proceeds from which will be used to fund hospital projects.

This fall they funded projects totalling $125,686, including the purchase of a Sonosite Turbo ultrasound for the Transplant Program; 21 new exam tables for Women’s Ambulatory Health Services; a 3D-imaging work station for the Stroke Center;

and two new oral surgery chairs for the Ambulatory Dental Clinic. Pictured, left to right: Auxilians Karen Alcorn, Cornelia Hull, Kathy Compton,

Linda Atkins, Karen Hagberg and Elisabeth De’Ath.

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